Liquid level control



July 2l, 1953 H. J. RAND LIQUID LEVEL CONTROL 2 sheets-'sheet 1 Filed Jan. 31. 1948 INVENmR. hie/MY c7.' RAND d TTORNE YJ July 21, 1953 H. J. RAND LIQUID LEVEL CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 31, 1948 Patented July 21, 1953 LIQUID LEVEL CONTROLY Henryy J. Rand, Bratenahl, Ohiogassignorvv tol-I. J,

Rand Washing. Machine Corpi, Bratenahl, Ohio,

acorporation of Delaware l Application January 31, 1948; Serial No. 5,620

rl'his vinvention relates to meansL forthe control of a liquid leveliwithin a flexible-bag.

One of the objectsy ofthe presentv invention is to provide a control member directly responsive to the pressure inside aiiexible bag so that when the liquid within the bag reaches a predeter-l mined level, the control member Will'be actuated. Another object cf thev presentvinvention is to provide a novel control member of the-type describedabove whereink the column of liquid di rectly above'the control member is effective over a relatively'large area of the control member for producing'its operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinged operator for the control member together With means for varying'the relative position of the operating member and the control member so as to vary the predetermined level at which the control Will be actuated.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a control member, the operating condition of which will not flutter or fluctuate due to agitation of the liquidwithin the flexible bag.

4Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and description and the essential features will be set forth in the appended claim.

Inthe drawings, Fig. 1 is a fragmental side elevational` view of one embodiment of my invention with parts broken away to more clearly show the construction; Y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental section taken alongthe line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental sectionV through a modified form of my invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental showing a portion of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmental rside elevasectional View tional View taken generally along the position of the line 5 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmental sectional along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmental sectional View similar to- Fig. 4 but showing another modication. This view. is taken along the line'1 `1 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 8. is a fragmental sectional'vievv taken View taken along theline 8 8 of Fig. 7 lwhile 1.Vv claim. (o1. spa-x21) scribed in my 'copending application SerialA No'. `5,619-iiledA January 31, 1948. Briefly, such a machine utilizes a'v flexible bag,` Il); of rubber or the like which isliquidand-airtight andadapted to hold detergent up tothe level'of the line Il of Fig. 1 during a washing operation. The side Walls ofthe bag are supported by-rigid'tub'walls I2 and thef bottom' of the bag is supported by the tub bottom I3; A cover` Illy isprovidedfor closing thenormally open top of the bag during a washing operation. A. seal is provided at the zoney I5 where the cover meets the neck of the bag. This seal isadapted to close` tightly when al vacuum is created' within` the bag astaught 'in my copending application. A; pipe- IIB is pro'- videdifor introducing andwithdrawing-liquid in-L side thebag. Agitator means I7 is provided-for kagitating the` clothes during'a washing opera-'- tion; The agitator' is perforated' as indicated at vswitch ofthefdevicein the casing rI9 is provided with an 4.operating stem 20 which in turn engages "the projecting stem 2I of a large plate operator 22'which' underliesftliefbottomwall of the exible bag I0.. In: its normaler, uncperated position the plate orfcap22 is raisedas' indicated inFigs; Y

1 andZ. It will be noted inFigs.= 1 and 2 that the bottom walll I3fof the tubis depressedat I3a beneath the cap 22 soA as to providemovement of the cap vertically downward.` The entire device is'supported by means of a fitting 23 which is provided witha shoulderV 24-vbeneath the bottom wall 13a and a-threaded nut 25v above thebottom wall portion which secures the devicein position. The stem 2| isslidablyvr mounted in the upper portion 23av ofthe member 23. A spring 261b'iases the cap member 22 upwardly being heldbetween a shoulder on-tliestem 2l and a cap V2-I1whichis-tlireaded'on the member 23; A bracket28 heldbetweenthe shoulder` 24 and thetriutr25- serves to support theswitch I9. The Wirest29" lead away to a suitable' control mechanism, which inthe `presentinstance is utilized'to Ystart uthe 'agitator I 1 when y theswitch I9 is closed as fully described in my ccpending application.

It should now be obvious that the device of Figs. 1 and 2 will operate whenever the column of water over the area of the cap 22 is of suiiicient weight to overcome the spring 26 So as t-o actuate the spring I9. The desired operating point may be chosen by regulating the area of the cap 22, the tension of the spring 26, and the relative position of the parts. It should be noted that the cap 22 is made convex upwardly so that the bottom of the flexible bag I will move smoothly backward and forward when the bag is collapsed andexpanded as described in my copending application.

Another manner of applying my invention is clearly shown in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive. Here the pressure switch is applied on one of the flexible side walls of the bag. A plate 30 of considerable area is secured to the rigid wall I2 which supports the flexible container by means of a suitable hinge permitting the plate to flex about its lower edge. In the present instance I have shown a hinge 3l of rubber or the like which is secured by suitable adhesive to the wall l2 and to the plate 30. It will be understood that the wall I2 is cylindrical and therefore this type of hinge is particularly adapted to this location. A switch 32 is mounted on a plate or bracket 33 which is secured to the rigid wall I2. The switch operator 33a engages the plate 30. As clearly shown in Fig. 6, the free edge of the bracket 33 is held to the wall l2 by means of a screw 34. By adjusting the nut 35 the bracket 33 may be moved toward or away from the plate 30 so as to regulate the point at which the switch 32 will be operated.

The operation of the form of my device shown in Figs. 3 to 6 should now be apparent. When the liquid within the bag l0| rises to the level Il as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, the operating plate 30 will be moved from the full line position of Fig. 4 to the dot-dash line thereof so as to close the switch 32 and to actuate a circuit connected to lines 36 and 31. By placing the switch actuator 33a relatively near the hinge 3l, the

upper edge of plate 30 may be moved through a considerable distance without causing the switch 32 to flutter on and olf. It will be understood that this is a great advantage in a washing machine supplied with an agitator like that shown at IT where the movement of the water is likely to cause some movement of the plate 30.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown a modification of the form of my invention just described. Here all of the parts which are the same have been given similar reference characters. The only difference is that the switch 38 is here shown as mounted on a bracket 39 in a manner to permit a vertical adjustment of the switch relative to the plate 30. Screws 40 pass through a slot 39a of the bracket and into the switch housing. By this means the switch may be moved up and down as desired so as to change the point at which the switch operator 38a engages the plate 30. This obviously will adjust the point at which the water level I I operates the switch 38 and will regulate the'sensitivity of the switch to the fluctuation of the plate 30.

In Fig. 9 I have shown still another modication of my invention utilizing a switch 4| which is of a type shown and described in United States Patent No. 1,780,758, granted November 4, 1930 to Henry G. Lupold. This switch has a blade 42 engaged by the switch actuator which is the stem 43a of the operating button 43. It is characteristic of this switch that when motion of the actuator 43a has caused the switch 42 to flex from the position shown in Fig. 9 to engagement with the contact 44, considerable movement of the actuator 43a in the opposite direction is necessary to reverse the switch position. The switch is mounted in a bracket 45 which is secured to the rigid wall |20 which supports the side wall of the flexible bag |02. The large button head 43 lies back of the flexible wall |02. The position of the actuator 43a is adjustable by means of the nut 4B.

The operation of the form of my device shown in Fig, 9 should now be clearly understood. When the liquid within the bag |02 arises to a sufcient level to press against the button head 43 it will operate the switch blade 42 so as to move the free end thereof from the position shown in Fig. 9 to a position in engagement with the contact 44. This will complete a circuit between the binding posts 41 and 48. One of the advantages of this form of my invention is that, once the liquid level has risen to a point suilicient to move the button head 43 toward the left as Viewed in Fig. 9 sufiiciently to cause blade 42 to engage contact 44, considerable fluctuation of the liquid within the flexible bag is necessary to cause suflicient retrograde movement of the operator 43a to permit the blade 42 to resume the position shown in Fig. 9. This device is therefore very useful in the case of my washing machine wherein the liquid is agitated inside the bag |02.

What I claim is:

In combination, a washing machine comprising a flexible member to receive laundry and liquid and having a vertical side wall, means for afmitting and discharging fluids to said container, an agitator within the container, means to actuate said agitator including a control switch member having an operator so arranged as to require appreciable movement between on and off positions, a plate engaging said operator, said plate having a pivotal mounting for movement in a substantially vertical plane, said plate lying outside of and positioned for engagement with said side wall, said operator being in operative engagement with said plate, whereby pressure of iquid in said container against the side wall will move said operator to its on position tc actuate the agitator.

HENRY J. RAND.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,294,923 Long Feb. 8, 1919 1,892,790 Smelser Jan. 3, 1933 2,153,716 Kelley Apr. 1l, 1939 2,155,868 Pauly Apr. 25, 1939 2,168,068 Loweke Aug. 1, 1939 2,205,165 Guthrie June 18, 1940 2,211,477 Normann Aug. 13, 1940 2,251,180 Wesley et al. July 29, 1941 2,305,154 Gilbert Dec. 15, 1942 2,338,365 Thorp Jan. 4, 1944 2,349,519 Reichenstein May 23, 1944 2,407,660 Graham Sept. 17, 1946 2,429,024 Jones Oct. 14, 1947 2,449,634 Baade Sept. 21, 1948 2,502,326 Koonz et al Mar. 28, 1950 2,568,332 Genovese Sept. 18, 1951 

